Sunday, February 21, 2010

Stranded in Sioux City

Our Valentine's weekend was such a great time! On Friday, we headed up to Okoboji to have a yummy stroganoff dinner with the family and rest before heading to Minnesota Saturday morning. We met the Wills family (Ryan's mom's side of the family) at the Pizza Ranch in Fairmont, MN and then headed to Aunt Kim and Uncle Greg's house to hang out. Amberly learned a new family tradition, Dirty Bingo! A dice game that includes having great luck at getting doubles and also grabbing gifts at lightning speed!

All was well as we woke up Sunday morning, watched some of the winter Olympics and decided to head back home. It wasn't long before we realized we weren't making it home that evening. Once we got closer to Sioux City, IA we had already encountered the white out conditions they had been talking about on the radio , with Interstate 29 closed, we decided that we should stay in Sioux City.

Since it happened to be Valentine's Day, we (Ryan and I, Mike and Sara) decided to make the most of it! We each received a complimentary drink from the hotel bar and played the question game while dining on a yummy chicken quesadilla. The next morning we walked to the IHOP next door and enjoyed breakfast while still waiting for the Interstate to open. We found out that it would be a while until the Interstate opened again, so we took a dip in the hotel jacuzzi, watched some more Olympics and found a nearby bowling alley. After bowling 2 games each and calling Road Conditions over 50 times, we needed a plan.

Interstate 29 was still closed, but we decided to brave Highway 75 instead. We were so glad we did!!! The roads were icy in places and white out conditions continued in spots, but we took it nice and slow and got home within 2.5 hours. It sure was a Valentine's Day we'll never forget!!!